Sunk in Kula Gulf tells the epic story of the Helena's survivors. Two destroyers plucked more than 700 sailors from the sea in a night rescue operation as the battle continued to rage. A second group of 88 men - clustered into three lifeboats - made it to a nearby island and were rescued the next day. A third group of survivors, spread over a wide area, was missed entirely. Clinging to life rafts or debris, the weary sailors were pushed away from the area of the sinking by a strong ocean current. After enduring days at sea under the hot tropical sun, the survivors finally found land. It was, however, the Japanese-held island of Vella Lavella and deep behind the front lines. The survivors organised and disappeared into the island's interior jungle. Living a meager existence, the group evaded the Japanese for eight days until the Marines and U.S. Navy evacuated the shipwrecked sailors in a daring rescue operation. Using a wide variety of sources, including previously unpublished firsthand accounts, John Domagalski brings to life this amazing little-known story from World War II.

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